Welcome to Cathedral

From a name like Cathedral, you'd think it was a religious city. Well, it was, originally. Founded by pioneers coming to the new world, Cathedral was where one of the first American Catholic churches was founded, though nowadays you can find everything from Buddhists to atheists here. The name stuck, though, and Cathedral went from a small town to a towering metropolis. Skyscrapers compete for closest to the sky, the streets aren't always safe and the rich run the poor in their self-made rat maze, but this is, after all, a city. Everybody middle-class and lower is packed together, and nobody knows why he or she stays, but they do. For whatever reason, they keep staying, and they keep clawing their ways up the social ladder. Unless you own a Porsche, you have good reason to fear walking home at night. Cathedral is lucky, though. It's got the Dragons.

The Four Dragons, or, as they were known in the olden days, The Elements Four, are the protectors of Cathedral. Each generation gets new people in the same roles as their Dragons, and each time a Dragon is replaced, their powers are somehow passed on to the next elemental taking their place. The costumes differ but never change too much, (supposedly the Wind Dragon went crazy with neon during the 70's,) though the names tend to change. The current Dragons, all teenagers with a long time as heroes ahead of them, chose their own names and costumes.

The leader and Dragon of Wind goes by Vento. I'm pretty sure that's Portuguese for Wind, since he seems to be Brazilian and all. Not incredibly original, but from what I know, he's not exactly a creative thinker. The guy likes soccer and flirting from the Dragon of Fire. The Dragon in question goes by Blaze, an old name and a new costume. It's very Sailor Moon, trust me. The Dragon of Water goes by Aqueous, and he seems to be the youngest of the Four. The name's kind of weird, but I guess it can't be helped. If he were a girl, he probably would've taken on the last Water Dragon's name, Undine, but it's not quite right for a guy. And then we have Earthshaker, whose element should be obvious. He's quieter than the others, and a bit scarier. He's got this cool trenchcoat-cape thing that screws with your eyes and makes him look like he's always standing in a pool of shadow.

They protect Cathedral, along with our average lines of defense, like policemen and firefighters. The CCPD have their work cut out for them, though. The Four Dragons can only do so much, since they're usually occupied with the supervillains of the city. Nutjobs like Dyris and that Jack Spicer guy flock from everywhere. Cathedral doesn't get the worst of it, Gotham does, but it can be pretty bad. At least there's almost never murder when the supers are involved. (Almost never.) The police department's pretty corrupt, but they'll take what they can get. The underground is filled with drug dealers, Cathedral's very own brand of mafia, gangsters, mobsters and thugs, all trying to make names for themselves.

And who am I? Oh, I'm flattered you care. Well, I'm nobody special. I've had several identities before and since I came to Cathedral, all of them fake. Except for one, but that's a secret I'll wait to give to you. Stay with me until the story's over, and them maybe I'll tell you. Maybe. But I have fought the Four for many years now. I came here when I was seventeen, and I'm twenty-four now. Seven years of fighting. They've known me as Sabotage, Witch, Hex and, most recently, Inque. (You say it like ink, doofus.) See, they have the power to control their respective element, and, at the moment, I have the power to bring ink to life. No, I was not bitten by a radioactive spider and I'm just as much a Kryptonian as the Flash. I'm my own special brand of magic, but the Dragons don't need to know that. I'm a witch, a liar, a cheat, a thief and everything in-between. You might even say that I'm a… changeling, of sorts. Heh.

So, welcome to Cathedral. Here's hoping you have a pleasant stay, 'cause chances are, you're not getting out alive.

A/N: Here we go! A few things before I leave you. I didn't put this in the crossover category only because I know that it would get more exposure in the normal section. I'd like to thank Spadefire, (my real-life best friend,) for beta-ing this for me. I couldn't have done it without you, Spadey! This is actually a collaboration between us, using her character and mostly my writing. Those of you who read her works should recognize said character soon enough. She's helping out a ton, though, so big thanks to Spade! Please review- neither of us could come up with a good title, so any ideas would be appreciated once the story gets rolling- and keep watching for my next update. Thank you!